Like every year, 2023, too, was riddled with some big controversies involving our film stars and film fraternity members. Bollywood Hungama, in this special report, brings to you the major controversies that made the maximum news this year.
1. Adipurush’s dialogue row
The dialogue ‘Jalegi bhi tere baap ki’ in Adipurush got criticism from all quarters, especially since it was mouthed by Lord Hanuman’s character. On top of it, writer Manoj Muntashir tried to defend the film by giving interviews. It horribly backfired and added fuel to the fire.
2. ‘Besharam Rang’ sparks protests
The seductive song ‘Besharam Rang’ from the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Pathaan got into a controversy, more so after Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra claimed that Deepika Padukone’s orange-coloured swimsuit hurt religious sentiments! Many found the whole argument amusing and protests took place in several parts of the country. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), thankfully, didn’t bow down and retained the ‘controversial’ scene in the film. There were reports of moviegoers whistling even more in Deepika’s orange swimsuit scene!
3. Bhagavad Gita scene in Oppenheimer under scanner
A scene involving the sacred text in the Hollywood hit Oppenheimer led to an uproar among certain sections of the audience. They demanded to know how CBFC passed the scene. The elite audience, meanwhile, was stunned and shocked to know that Florence Pugh’s nude scene was edited with a CGI-made black dress in India
4. Misogyny in Animal raises tempers
Certain scenes of Animal were slammed and dubbed as regressive and ‘anti-feminist’. It further made people curious and added to the collections. Meanwhile, the official Twitter handle of Animal started giving it back to journalists who attacked the film. While the fans of the film hailed the move as it was one of its kind, the rest found it cheap and unnecessary.
5. OMG 2 censor row
The outcome of the criticism over Oppenheimer and Adipurush’s controversial scenes was that the CBFC was extremely cautious with OMG 2. It not only awarded an ‘A’ certificate, it also asked for 27 cuts. Akshay Kumar’s character was changed from Lord Shiva to Messenger Of God while Ujjain’s reference was removed completely.
6. Salaar vs Dunki
The two films clashed in the same week, leading to a bloodbath at the box office over sharing of shows. The deadlock continued till the eleventh hour. In a rare move, single-screen cinemas were asked to choose between the two films by Dunki’s distributors. No one was allowed to share shows. Many found this move unfair.
7. Ranbir slammed for lipstick comments
Ranbir Kapoor was dubbed toxic after Alia Bhatt revealed that he would force her to wipe her lipstick off.
8. The Kerala Story row
The controversial film was loved by some while a section of moviegoers dubbed it as a ‘propaganda product’. Vipul Shah, at the press conference, made many controversial statements and it got a lot of attention.
9. BOGO
Zara Hatke Zara Bachke was released with an offer of a Buy-One-Get-One ticket. The film opened better than expected, leading trade and viewers to assume that it was possible due to this offer. Some warned that such offers shouldn’t be encouraged. Director Laxman Utekar slammed those who held such belief. He famously said, “Kuch log bol rahe hai, ‘1 pe 1 free diya isliye film chal rahi hai’. Arre bhai, agar sade hue tamatar aap bechoge aur bologe ki ek kilo pe aadha kilo free hai, toh kutta bhi lega kya?’”
10. Deepfake video leads to fear
Rashmika Mandanna’s deepfake video looked very real and it led to a scare among celebs as well as the common man that anyone can manipulate their visuals and violate their modesty. Swift action was taken by authorities to nab the culprits, nevertheless.
11. Deepika Padukone trolled for ‘Koffee With Karan’s statements
‘Koffee With Karan Season 8’ started with a bang with the episode featuring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. Deepika’s comments about how she began dating Ranveer were trolled by certain netizens.
12. Akshay Kumar’s Vimal ad leaves a bad taste
The ad for Vimal pan masala, featuring Akshay Kumar, was prominently aired during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Many wondered how this ad is allowed especially when the actor had claimed that he is no longer associated with the brand. The negativity became so much that Akshay had to clarify that he shot the TVC way back in October 2021 and the brand has the right to play till the end of that month.
13. Priyanka Chopra drops the bomb during Citadel promotions
During the promotion of her web show Citadel, Priyanka Chopra dropped the bomb that some years ago, she was cornered in the Hindi film industry and her ‘beef’ with people led to loss of opportunities. She further said that her Hollywood career was born out of a survival instinct.
14. Palak Tiwari’s ‘neckline’ comment about Salman Khan creates a storm
Palak Tiwari, in an interview, revealed that when she was assisting on Antim, Salman Khan had imposed a diktat that the women on the sets shouldn’t wear revealing clothes. It created a storm on the internet, forcing Palak to admit that she made a mistake by talking about it.
15. Token release for Dhak Dhakangers Taapsee Pannu
Taapsee Pannu was shocked to see that Viacom18 Studios didn’t promote her production Dhak Dhak much and gave it a token release in cinemas. This was reportedly done because the studio had bagged a deal with Netflix, which helped them recover their cost. To make her displeasure clear, she deleted many posts related to the movie. It caught the attention of the media and they began reporting about it extensively.
16. ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’ actors break silence
The much-loved TV show ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’ was in the news for the wrong reasons in 2023. It began with Shailesh Lodha putting cryptic texts about non-payment of dues. Producer Asit Kumarr Modi handled the situation, claiming that Shailesh needs to complete the paperwork before his dues can be released. Later, Jennifer Mistry Bansiwal accused the makers of sexual harassment and ill-treatment. Monika Bhadoriya, who played Bawri, revealed that “Woh log (makers) kutte ke jaisa treat karte hain.” Shailesh Lodha, meanwhile, took his fight to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) after which his dues amounting to Rs. 1.05 crore were cleared.
17. Nana Patekar slammed for slap
Nana Patekar was criticized after a video of him slapping a selfie-seeking fan went viral. The makers tried to douse the fire by claiming that it was a part of the scene.
18. Rana Daggubati vs Sonam Kapoor
During the promotions of King Of Kotha, Rana Daggubati claimed that a ‘big cinema heroine’ wasted Dulquer Salmaan’s time on the sets of a film by engaging on a phone call with her London-based partner. Netizens were quick to conclude that Rana was referring to Sonam Kapoor, who was Dulquer’s co-star in The Zoya Factor (2019). Sonam responded to Rana with a cryptic post, ‘Small minds discuss people, average minds discuss events, and great minds discuss ideas…Just a little something I would like some people to know…Especially when discussing things about people that are made up’. Rana soon apologized for his comments.
19. Guneet Monga not allowed to speak at the Oscars
Guneet Monga went on the stage after her documentary The Elephant Whisperers won the Best Documentary award at the 95th Academy Awards. The microphone, however, was switched off as the team of the film exceeded their time on stage. Many across the world were hurt by the humiliating treatment meted out to the reputed producer.
20. Made In Heaven controversies give a hellish time to the makers
Made In Heaven Season 2 finally dropped in August but the show made noise for its twin controversies. Dalit author Yashica Dutt claimed that an episode directed by Neeraj Ghaywan showed a version of her life on screen without permission or credit. The makers dismissed these claims, with Neeraj claiming that it's based on his life. A few days later, Tarun Tahiliani rued that his designs were presented in the second episode under a fictitious label name.
21. Singers harassed, crowd in distress at music concerts
2023 was a year when music concerts got a bad name. At Hampi Utsav, a water bottle was hurled on stage while Kailash Kher was performing as the audience members wanted to hear Kannada tunes. A few weeks later, Sonu Nigam and his team were manhandled by Swapnil Phatarpekar, the son of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) MLA Prakash Phatarpekar, at a music event in Chembur, Mumbai. In November, 4 students died in a stampede at Nikhita Gandhi’s concert. Finally, the worst episode was when 50,000 people turned up for A R Rahman’s Chennai concert at a venue which could accommodate 25,000 people. Several women complained that men molested them freely, taking advantage of the situation. The overcrowding also led to a stampede-like situation.
22. Bheed’s partition reference irks netizens
The promo of Bheed compared the lockdown measures to the horrors of the partition. It invoked sharp reactions and felt that such a comparison was far-fetched. It was later pulled down from YouTube.
23. Chrisann Pereira’s shocking case
Sadak 2 (2020) actor Chrisann Pereira was tricked into carrying a trophy laden with drugs. Though she voluntarily handed over the item to the police at Sharjah airport, she was arrested. The media in India reported widely on how she was framed. The Mumbai Police also presented a strong case in her favour. Two months later, in June 2023, she was freed. What shocked people was how she was made to believe that she was a part of a web series for which she was asked to fly to UAE. The trophy was given to her with the belief that it was a prop for the web show.
24. Harbhajan called out for ‘Cricket ki zyaada samajh toh hogi nahi’ remarks on Anushka and Athiya
During the World Cup final between India vs Australia, Harbhajan Singh, who was the commentator, reacted to the camera panning on Anushka Sharma and Athiya Shetty, wives of cricketers Virat Kohli and K L Rahul. Harbhajan stated that both actresses must be talking about movies as they must not have an idea about cricket.
More Pages: Salaar Box Office Collection , Salaar Movie Review
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